Beyond the Storm, A Tale of the Ketty Jay
by gparsons
Summary: The continuation of the fantastic Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding. Since the events in Thesk the crew have traveled back to Samarla to assist with the Thacian invasion and help liberate the Murthian's. However, Frey is being extremely cautious, work is slow and funds are drying up. He is about to throw in the towel and head back home when he gets a visit from an old friend.


This is my first attempt at Fan Fiction, actually it's the first thing I've ever written and posted online for the world to read so please be gentle.

It's the continuing story of the _Ketty Jay_, I guess this would be book 5 in the series. All credits and acknowledgements go to the creator Chris Wooding of course. I'll aim to write a chapter a week, if I'm still enjoying myself that is. The reason I'm writing it is because I loved the books so much I just didn't want them to end, I had an idea of what the next story would be about and thought why not have a go myself. I don't want to give too much of the story away but it is steeped in Ketty Jay lore. I wanted it to be as cohesive with the original text as possible. Any way, hope you enjoy!

**Beyond the Storm - A Tale of the Ketty Jay**

**Part One**

_A gun wielder and a blonde - Trouble - New recruit - The last of the bitch queen_

Ratner Bresland looked at the fallen bodies of his recently deceased entourage and spat. He wasn't so much angered at the loss of life, he cared very little about the men. It was the ordeal of replacing them, the cost and the effort that boiled his blood. He heard a click and turned to one of his captors. He stared down the barrel of the gun and then into the eyes of the man holding it. A pretty boy in a scruffy long coat and a self satisfied demeanour, Bresland hated him instantly.

"It's all gone!?" Exclaimed the gun wielder.

Bresland wriggled in the chair and fought against the bonds. He was a big man so being tied to a small stool made him very irritated. Being a big man also gave him the confidence to believe he could break free but that confidence soon faded, they'd secured him too well.

"Why so indignant mate? As far as I was aware the queen bitch is dead. No one around to claim her spoils, it was up for grabs so I grabbed." He grumbled.

The gun wielder spared a look to his partner, a sweet blonde thing with interesting eyes. She didn't notice him, she hadn't taken those golden eyes off Bresland since the shooting stopped. He thought he recognised her from somewhere but couldn't place it. She seemed to know him, the way she was staring at him.

_She must fancy me._ He thought with a grin.

"Not even a dumb ape like you could burn through all that money so fast." said the gun wielder.

"Money is capital and I'm a business man, I've made investments. I don't know if you've noticed but there's a war on. Opportunities can't be missed, opportunities..."

Bresland broke off, his interrogator seemed to be looking through him, he seemed to be listening to something else. He had his hand hovering over his ear, the one with the earcuff. Bresland was the kind of man who would refuse to be intimidated by a bloke wearing a poncy earcuff like that, it made the job of stalling them all the easier.

"Trouble?" asked the blonde who had finally turned to her partner.

"Trouble." said the gun wielder, frowning at the prisoner. Bresland looked back at them with a pompous smirk.

"Silent alarm." said the blonde with a burrowed frown.

"What did you call me? A dumb ape?" asked Wogan with a stifled laugh. He didn't get a verbal reply. The gun wielder pistol whipped him round the head and then he could only see stars.

The bullets started hailing the second they emerged from the hidden door. Frey cursed under his breath as he and Trinica hurled themselves back into Bresland's office.

"Thanks for the last minute warning!" he wailed.

"Sorry Cap! They appeared from nowhere and all at once," came the voice of Ashua through the daemonically thralled earcuff. "We're feeding em bullets from up here but some of them got into the club."

Another volley of bullets tore through the wooden panelled walls around them.

"You don't say!" said Frey, as Trinica aimed around the door and returned fire with her pistols.

"I said I was sorry for pits sake, just hang tight, we'll get you out." replied Ashua.

Frey wanted to offer up a half-arsed retort, something about hanging her and Malvery _tight_ but then thought better of it. He had other matters to attend with right now, he took out his pistol and joined the fight next to Trinicia.

Malvery took a swig of rum then reloaded his shotgun. He watched Ashua fire at the privateers below them, chuckling maniacally before each pull of the trigger.

"Enjoying yourself kiddo?" he asked.

"This is what it's all about old man!" she replied.

"Getting half cut on good rum is what it's all about. This is just a distraction."

They had the high ground, raining bullets down over their enemies from the roof of the building across the road from the club. They decided that was the best spot to watch out for reinforcements, for all the good it was worth. The enemy had swarmed the place in seconds, arriving in two dusty armoured motor-vehicles. Four of the thugs ran down into the club straight off the hoof, but he and Ashua managed to get the other six suppressed, cowering behind the bulky transport carriers that they arrived in.

Malvery took his turn and fired. He hit the sand stoned archway of the club's entrance with his first shot, he needed a little time to get going these days. He did good on his next attempt and clipped one of the bastards in the shoulder who crumbled and sank down deeper behind cover.

_Vermin! _Thought Malvery.

He didn't mind shooting these fellas, despite the fact they too were fellow Vards. He considered them vultures, coming over to Samarla and profiteering from the invasion. Then he stopped to consider that might be perceived as precisely the reason he was here too. No, they'd come to help liberate the Murthians, to put an end to the Sammies cruel reign once and for all! It was just a happy coincidence that Trinica had some secret booty hidden away in this remote little shanty town in middle of the dry lands. One of the men below got brave and made a dart for the club's entrance, Malvery cured his bravery with a clean shot in the chest.

_Just a happy coincidence_. He thought to himself.

Inside, the dingy club hall was being blown to pieces. Bullets shredding the flimsy wooden pillars and uncomfortable furniture. Frey and Trinica were still trapped in the office at the back while Bresland's men shot at them from behind the bar. The club mostly resided on a sub-level and it's walls were almost entirely made of crude stone brickwork giving Frey the impression he was in a tomb which didn't bode well.

"When I said we should try new things together this isn't what I meant!" said Trinica.

"I promised you more excitement though, eh?" replied Frey, although he wasn't sure whether he could trick Trinica into believing his bravado.

True, things had slowed down recently, despite coming to a war zone, but damned if Frey wasn't starting to prefer it that way.

"I'm out, how many you got left?" asked Trinica as she put her guns away.

Frey did some mental arithmetic "Enough" he lied.

_Rat and rot_, he had the woman he loved, finally safe and sound by his side and he went and brought her to a gun fight! After everything he'd gone through to get her. They needed money sure, but there are other ways, honest ways. A bullet wizzed past his head, close call. He fired back.

_Good grief Darian Frey, what is happening to you?_ He thought to himself. He used to enjoy a good gun fight. Well actually that wasn't necessarily true but he never fretted like this before.

Frey dared a brief glimpse round the door, then dived back to avoid the bullets.

"They're coming to say hello." said Frey.

Trinica over turned Bresland's table and they moved behind it.

"I do love it when we have guests." she remarked.

Somehow Trinica made Frey feel invincible. Damn he loved this woman. He popped his head above the table.

"Well, come on then boys, we have plans later so why not speed things along a bit?!" he shouted.

The men outside looked at one another then with their rifles raised they moved in. Frey heard the floorboards creak under their footsteps from the office. Trinica's power had drained out of him already and he began to regret taunting the bastards. Trinica took out her make-up mirror and arched it around the table. She looked into the reflection and saw the men approaching. They were almost half way across the hall.

"Almost here." she said. The creaking grew louder, Frey's heart was pounding in his chest, Frey checked his pistol chamber.

Two bullets. _Piss and spit. He better be-_

Before he could finish that thought he was interrupted by a loud blast from the other room.

Dust filled the hall, the privateers were knocked off their feet, one permanently. A thin figure rose from beneath the splintered floor boards and came up on his prey from behind. The thin man blew two away with his shot gun but couldn't swing round fast enough to catch the last one, he heard a shot go off and froze.

The last privateer looked down at his chest, confused by all the red oozing out of him. Then he feel to the ground in a heap.

Frey lowered his pistol, Trinica soon appeared by his side. They both looked thoroughly relieved. The dust cleared and the thin man approached them. He wore light blue combat attire, his face obscured by a red scarf and large jet black goggles. He lowered the mask and raised the goggles, revealing the youthful face of a Vard with dark stubble and short spiky black hair.

"So..." said Kale. "Is it pay day?"

Frey holstered his weapon and moved to the hole in the ground. "We're too late, the bastards spent it all already."

Kale groaned "So all this was for nothing?" "You got to blow something up finally." Mentioned Trinica.

Kale raised his eyebrow and smiled in approval.

"You know, I gave you one of these for a reason," said Frey, indicating to the earcuff. "Would have been nice to know you were planning on joining us." "I'm not really keen with this daemonist stuff man." said Kale to which Frey rolled his eyes.

"And anyhoo, I'm the one traipsing around in some dark stinking reservoir, I could have gotten lost down there y'know." added Kale.

"All the more reason to keep in touch don't you think?" argued Frey.

"Er, if you girls are done squawking we could use some help. Ammo has almost run dry... So has the rum." came the voice of Ashua through Frey's ear. Trinica threw Frey a dead man's rifle which he just about caught. "Let's get the hell outa here love." she suggested.

The privateers were so busy watching the roof they had little chance against Frey, Trinica and Kale which was precisely the kind of gunfight Frey enjoyed. They mopped them up in seconds. He waved to the others on the roof and they were all soon heading to the rattletraps on edge of town. The locals, now appearing from behind windows and doorways stared bleakly at them, trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

"That could have gone better," remarked Malvery. "Perhaps leaving Silo at the camp wasn't such a great idea after all."

"I told him we'd be fine and we are, besides he had his class, I didn't want to interfere." said Frey.

"Now Silo's a teacher and everything, do we have to call him professor?" asked Ashua. "We don't have to but I think we most definitely should." replied Frey.

He looked over at Trinica, she seemed lost in thought.

"You alright Trin?" asked Frey as they saddled onto the rattletraps. She looked at him and sighed.

"That's it then, nothing left of our bitch pirate queen." She smiled and gave Frey a hug.

"Come on, let's go home."


End file.
